Crash
by Raven Heartz
Summary: It was supposed to be an easy job. In and out. Steal one of Tony Stark's cars and sell it to get better medical care for her dying mother. Of course, it's never that easy. He caught her instantly, but instead of calling the cops, he simply offered her a job. With her past catching up to her and her heart on the line, how could she ever learn to love a man like Stark?
1. i

i.

It's an easy job, I reassure myself. The AI is off, Stark is gone, and there are a crap load of cars waiting for me. It'll be fine.

Am I insane for trying to break into Tony Stark's Malibu home? Yeah, probably. Do I care? Nope. Do you know how much money one of Stark's cars will give me? Hint: a lot. Enough to bring my mother home, pay her rent, and pay her medical bills. All my problems will be solved.

Well, except if I end up arrested. That might be a problem.

I double check the panel, relieved when I see it completely off, and I slip inside the dark garage. There are tons to choose from- antiques, new models, hybrids, even cars Stark has modified. Decisions, decisions…

"So which one are you gonna take?"

I jerk around, my eyes wide, to see Tony Stark standing there with his arms crossed, still in his suit as he watches me calculatingly. "Uh," I manage smartly.

His eyes flick behind me for a split second before looking at me with a fake pout. "Please don't tell me you were going to take the Ferrari,"

I straighten even though my intimidation level is at a solid zero. "Why do you think I was going to steal something?"

He raises an eyebrow. "Most people don't turn off my AI and wear dark clothes, while I'm at a party, to pay the house a visit."

Touché. "So go ahead," I say, crossing my arms. "Call the cops."

He tilts his head, eyes still calculating, and a weird feeling settles in my stomach- dread. "Actually, I have a better idea."

…

"You want to offer her a job?" Pepper exclaims incredulously. "After she broke in and tried to steal a car?"

"I had a good reason," I mutter to myself, focusing on my hands in my lap.

Pepper continues on as if I hadn't spoken. "When I said I needed a replacement, I didn't mean pick the next girl you see."

I bristle. "I'm not a girl."

"Everyone calm down," Tony says, sounding bored. "Pep, I need someone to step in as my personal assistant, and she needs the job."

Pepper gives him a bland look.

"Trust me," He says, offering a small smile. "Besides, I'd have thought you would want someone else to take the job so you don't have to be near me."

"Tony," She sighs. "Just because we broke up doesn't mean I want to watch you ruin yourself by investing in a thief."

"Hey," I say coldly. "Don't call me a thief when my first attempt failed."

"First attempt?" Tony asks, raising an eyebrow.

I lower my head. "It was kind of a last-ditch option." I say quietly.

"Fine," Pepper says, snatching her purse from the counter in front of me and nearly hitting me in the head. "Do what you want, Tony. You always do." With that she stomps into the elevator, letting the AI thingy-ma-doo-floppy do its thing.

There's an awkward silence. "Sorry about your friend- ex- whatever." Nice one, way to sound smart in front of a genius.

He doesn't say anything for a while, and I look up to see myself in the mirror. Dark red hair, blue eyes, pale skin- I look like a homeless person, and while I'm not doing much better, I have some pride. Frowning, I try to untangle my long waves, and Tony finally speaks up. "Stop. You look fine."

I jump a little, lowering my hands. "What do you want from me?"

He smirks, rising and setting his tool on the counter- not a good sign. "Like I said," He says, stepping way too close in my personal space, forcing me to lean away. "I need an assistant." He picks up a stand of hair and starts twirling it around his finger.

I slap his hand away. "If that's what you want, pick someone else."

To my irritation, he smiles, moving away. "Congrats. You passed the test."

I glare at him. "Excuse me?"

He smirks, leaning against the counter. "I had to make sure you weren't in it for sex. Welcome aboard, newbie," He says, grinning and offering me his hand.

I take it. "Alisa," I say, grinning. "Alisa Matthews."

…

"Hi, Momma," I whisper, setting the flowers on her bedside table. "How are you feeling?"

"I'm fine," She says firmly, though I doubt she can with those IVs in her arm. "How was your day?"

I sit in the old chair. I should have chosen a better hospital, but I don't have the money for that, not yet. "Great. I got a job."

"I'm so proud of you," She says, grabbing my hand weakly. "Хорошая девочка," Good girl.

I smile, glad she uses my birth language even though I don't remember much of my childhood before her. I know I was adopted from Russia and that my birth parents- and my sister- died in a fire, but she wanted me to learn anyway.

My mom's awesome like that.

"Miss Matthews, can I have a word with you?" The doctor asks, gesturing for me to come with him. "I hate to interrupt, but we found something in your mother."

My blood runs cold. "What is it?"

"There's no easy way to say it, but she…she has lung cancer,"

I feel like I've been punched in the gut. "How long?" I croak.

"A couple months at most."

No, no, not Mom. Not now. I finally had a shot.

I force a deep breath and nod, willing myself to become steel. No emotion. "Thank you," I say quietly. "Does she know?"

"Yes," He says quietly.

I nod and go back in the room with her, taking her hand and smiling, because if I don't she'll worry and I'll be all alone again.

"So this new job," Mom starts. "Is it good? Will it let you take care of yourself?"

I nod once. "Yes. And you."

She waves her hand. "I'm not worried about that. You need to take care of yourself, ok?"

I sigh. "Ok."

How can I take care of myself when I can't take care of my own mother?


	2. ii

ii.

I _hate_ Tony Stark.

"Here's your coffee," I mutter, slamming it on the desk and miraculously not breaking it. Yes, coffee, as in I'm apparently his coffee girl. I'm going to kill him at some point. It'll happen.

"You didn't spit in this, did you?" He asks, raising an eyebrow and picking it up.

"That would have been a good idea." I mutter to myself.

He smirks and takes a drink. "By the way, we need to talk."

I pause. "About?"

"You mom being in the hospital," I tense, and he continues calmly. "I paid her bills and moved her to a better hospital."

I have no words. "Why?"

"I felt like it. Don't sound so surprised." He sets the mug down. "And you're adopted?"

"You went through my past?" I snap, contemplating the best way to kill him.

"Actually I went through your records," He keeps his eyes trained on me while I curse under my breath in Russian. "You could have told me about your mother. I would have paid for it and you would still have a job."

"Fetching coffee," I mutter under my breath.

He smirks. "By the way, you didn't tell me you were fluent in Russian." I glare at him, and he looks a little terrified for a split second before it disappears back to smugness. "No worries. I know someone who's also from Russia and speaks the lingo. You guys would probably get along." He mutters under his breath. "You're both terrifying."

I pretend I didn't hear him. "You know someone from Russia?" I ask curiously.

He nods. "She's pretty…intimidating, but I think you'd like her. Her name's Natasha."

I nod once.

"You know, now that I think about it, her family died too." I snap my attention to him, and he smiles, glad to have me looking at him. "Her parents and sister died too."

Wow. There must have been a lot of fires in Russia. "Interesting."

"You gonna ignore me all day or start working?" He asks, handing me a tablet. I take it from him and scan it calmly. "Happy knows he needs to drive you around, so don't worry about anything other than finishing that list."

I raise an eyebrow. "Where do I even get this stuff?"

"What?" He asks, already working.

"I think I need to quit," I say, setting it down like it's on fire.

"What?" He asks seriously, turning to look at me.

"I can't do this. I don't even know what this stuff is." I say quietly, not looking at him.

"Hey," He says forcefully, surprising me into looking at him. "Don't bail on me. You need the money, right?"

I send him a dark glare.

"For you, and you mom, and whatever else," He clarifies. "Part of the job is getting coffee and things I want. I need a personal assistant, not a coffee girl."

I let out a breath, nodding. "Can you at least tell me what some of this stuff is?"

He grins, taking the tablet back. "All you had to do was ask."

I whack him in the back of the head.

…

"You need to spend less time here, Alisa." My mother chides, still connected to the oxygen. "You won't go well at your job if you keep worrying about me."

"I'm fine, Mom," I say, smiling and taking her hand. "How do you feel?"

"Better, but… I want to make sure you're prepared for when I go."

"Mom," I say firmly. "You're going to be fine."

"It's terminal," She says firmly.

" _You're going to be fine_."

She huffs irritably. "Stubborn."

"Thanks," I say lightly.

She pauses. "This man, Mr. Stark… how did he find out I was sick?"

 _He's a nosy asshole_. "I guess he found out when he ran a background check."

"He did that after he hired you?" She asks, surprised.

I shrug. "He's a little…" _Stupid_. "Different."

She smiles. "Tony Stark?"

I pause. "Yeah…?"

Her grin widens. "He must really like you then."

"He just wants to tick off his ex," I say, waving it off. "But I'm working hard enough to earn it."

She raises an eyebrow, but doesn't comment.

"Besides," I say lightly, grinning. "I like proving people wrong."

She snorts. "You would try to prove the grass is pink if you could."

I make a face. "I hate pink."

"I know," She says, smiling.

I sigh and grab my burger from the fast food joint. It's gonna be a long night.

…

"You think I'll like your new employee?" Natasha Romanoff asks, raising an eyebrow.

He keeps working. "Yeah, you're both terrifying."

She raises a single brow. "You think I'm terrifying?"

"I mean that in the nicest way," He backtracks.

She smirks darkly. "I think I could tolerate that. Who is it?"

"Her name is Alisa Matthews." He says, changing something on the blueprints.

She frowns. "Alisa…"

"Something wrong?" He asks absently.

She shakes her head. "Nothing. I used to know someone with that name." She pauses. "Are you creating another suit?"

"Uh huh," He says, still working. "JARVIS, run a check."

"Yes, sir."

"You make too many of those things," She says, scowling.

He picks up a stray invention and tinkers with it. "Funny, she said the same thing."

"Good, you hired someone with a brain."

He sighs. "Just go back to you ninja assassin stuff, Romanoff."

…

"She checked into a hospital?" The man asks, staring out the window.

"Yes, sir. She's dying."

"Interesting," He muses. "And the girl?"

"Still with her. We have reason to believe she's working for Tony Stark."

He scowls. "Does he know?"

"Not yet, sir, but he will soon enough."

The man lets out a growl. "She should have never taken her from us. She would have been a valuable asset. Two in the same place…"

"If I may interrupt, sir, it may have been better that she escaped. Had she followed Natalia's devices-"

The man spins around, firing once, and the guard drops to the ground in a dead heap.

"What were you saying?" He asks lightly, lowering his gun.


	3. iii

iii.

I yawn, pressing the button on the coffee machine and stretching before gathering my hair and pulling it into a messy bun.

"You seem rather settled."

I jump, flipping around and trying to stop blinking like an idiot. "Miss Potts," I manage, taking a couple of deep breaths. "I'm sorry, I didn't hear you come in."

She smirks. "That's a little unprofessional if you plan to be a personal assistant."

"Tony told me that I would be warned when people are coming by either him or JARVIS."

She scowls. "You also shouldn't call your boss by his first name."

"I have permission."

"He's only doing it to feel better about himself."

"I know."

She pauses, slightly off guard, but then she presses on. "I'm going to get him back, Alice-"

"Alisa."

"- and no matter what charity case he's pulling, I won't let you waltz in like you can have him because he's upset about me."

I keep my temper in check and force my voice to remain calm and even. "I'm only working here so that I can pay my mother's medical bills before she dies. He pays me enough to keep me set for  
a long time, and I intend to leave as soon as possible. I do not want him like that, and I don't appreciate you treating me like a child when I already know my place."

She purses her lips. "As long as we understand each other."

I nod once, and the coffee pot beeps. "Please excuse me, I need to bring Tony his coffee."

"Already here."

We both jump, and I turn my head to see him leaning against the doorway with his signature smirk, all other emotions absent.

I quickly turn back to the coffee pot. "Would you like some coffee, Miss Potts?"

I turn with the full mug as she forces a smile. "No, thank you. I really need to go run the company." Her eyes flick to me, as if I should care, and she lifts her purse on her shoulder. "I just wanted to see how things were going."

Tony takes the mug from me and slings an arm over my shoulder. "Just great."

I scowl and knock his arm off, stepping away. "Buzz off."

"Good morning to you too, sunshine." He nods at Pepper. "Goodbye, Miss Potts."

"Goodbye, Mr. Stark," She says quietly, and with one last glare in my direction she turns and stalks away.

"So when did she show up?" Tony asks casually, leaning against the counter and taking a drink.

I shrug nonchalantly, turning to fix myself a cup. "Not too long before you came up."

"Good," He says, and I hear the quiet sound of a mug being set on the island. "Did she say anything?"

Oh, she said lots of things you'd love to hear. "Nothing much. Just checking in."

"Really? Nothing else?"

"What is this, an interrogation?"

"Did she say anything else?"

"Oh my- If you want to ask her out, then do it. I'm not talking about this crap."

"You're lying."

I go still. "What?" How did I lie about not messing with this relationship?

"You're lying about Pepper." He steps closer, and I stare at him with wide eyes. "Why are you lying to me?"

I force my lips to move. "I'm not. Nothing happened."

"She threatened you," He says quietly, and then I realize just how close we are.

"It was damage control. All girls do it."

He shakes his head. "I know a threat when I hear it." He pauses. "You're not really planning on leaving after your Mom, are you?"

I turn around without answering, pulling the sugar jar closer and working on my cup.

"Alisa…" He says, whining.

I keep ignoring him. "Is there anything you need me to do today?"

"Yeah, talking to me."

I huff out an annoyed breath and turn back around, crossing my arms. "What do you want to talk about?"

"The fact that you keep lying to me."

I throw my arms out in exasperation. "What do you expect? I'm not going to stand in the middle of this and just wait for you two to get back together."

He frowns, his eyebrows furrowing. "Get back together?"

"Yep," I say, scooting to the side to make my way around him. "What do you want to eat?"

"Eggs and bacon. Why would we get back together?" He asks, crossing his arms and watching me move to the fridge.

"Why wouldn't you? Do you mind if I have some? I overslept and didn't have time to-"

"Of course. You can always eat here. And what do you mean, why wouldn't I?"

I roll my eyes and continue to cook. "I thought you liked tall successful beautiful women?"

"You do realize that was a run-on sentence?" I send him a brief glare before going back to my task. "Yes, she is tall, and successful, and beautiful, but we broke up for a reason."

"And I care…?" I trail off, leaning back as his bacon pops. "Ow!"

He grabs my hand and drags me over to the sink, sticking my hand under the faucet. "Be careful."

Annoyed, I yank my hand out and dab it with a towel. "Thanks," I mutter reluctantly. "It's none of my business, Tony."

He purses his lips, but he turns back to his coffee. "You need to come with me to a press conference."

I groan.

"I know, but it's about our latest breakthrough at Stark Industries, and since I design everything I need to be there to explain."

I sigh in defeat. "Ok. Do I need to dress up or something?"

He nods, and send him a death glare, making him grin. "Don't worry, Happy picked up a suit. You can even keep it."

"You don't have to spend money on me," I protest.

"Get over it." He takes his plate from my hand and sits at the island. "It's in an hour. I also had someone bring over makeup and stuff, so all you need to do is eat and get ready."

Do all rich people throw away their money for their employees? Is this a thing? "Ok," I say slowly, dropping down with my food.

He smirks. "What, ran out of things to say?"

I pop a piece of bacon in my mouth. "Shut up, Stark."


End file.
